Free Internet Advertising - Unwritten Rules of Internet Forums By Elaine Currie

Free Internet advertising is
sought after by most Internet
marketers and one readily
available source of free Internet
advertising is the Internet
forum. For Internet marketing
novices, I'll briefly explain how
free Internet advertising is
obtained from Internet forums .
Basically, Internet forums are
message boards where
members can exchange
information, obtain advice or
just chat. There are Internet
forums to cater for every topic
you would care to imagine (and
a few you would probably
prefer not to dwell on ). The
Internet marketer advertises his
product simply by posting
messages on the forums . There
are some Internet forums that
forbid the posting of
advertisements but , on many of
these forums , it is still possible
to obtain free Internet
advertising by use of a signature
file. The signature file is a short
piece of text which can contain a
link to a website and which can
be annexed to every posting a
member makes on a forum
message board.
If you have never tried forums
as a source of free Internet
advertising , you should bear in
mind that there is an unwritten
code of etiquette which need to
be observed. The following are
some of the unwritten rules
which need to be followed if you
intend to use forums for free
Internet advertising for your
business.
Read the Forum Rules
You need to read the rules of
any Internet forum before you
try to post a message there . I
know this sounds obvious but it
is clear that many forum users
don't bother to read the rules ,
despite the fact that the forum
registration process inevitably
includes a requirement for the
applicant to check a box
indicating that the forum rules
have been read and will be
adhered to. Don't just sign up
with the idea of getting as much
free Internet advertising as
possible from the forum . Many
forums prohibit the posting of
affiliate urls anywhere apart
from in the members' forum
signature file . If you become a
member of one of these forums
without reading the rules and
start posting your affiliate urls in
messages, you will quickly find
yourself labelled a "spammer ".
In case you didn 't know ,
spammers are considered to be
the lowest of the low on the
Internet. If there was a virtual
prison for Internet crime,
Internet advertising spammers
would have to be kept in solitary
confinement for their own
protection.
Lurk Before You Leap
Internet forum etiquette
demands that you spend a little
time " lurking " ie logging in at the
forum and reading previous and
current threads before you even
think of starting to use the
forum for free Internet
advertising . Although lurking is
not an official rule of Internet
forums , it is largely accepted as
an essential part of the
unwritten code of behaviour.
The practice is very useful.
Lurking will enable you to get
the feel of how a forum works,
you will be able to ascertain the
tone of the messages, the type
of subject matter which is
welcomed and the level of
expertise of other forum
members. You might even find
that a particular forum is not for
you and this could save you the
embarrassment of posting an
inappropriate message on the
forum.
Be Subtle
You know that you are visiting
the forum merely for the free
Internet advertising for your
website but it is better not to
make this obvious if you want
other members to react well to
your advertising . Forums are
rather like private clubs where
members strike up friendships
and make business deals. If you
rush in waving your " FREE
INTERNET ADVERTISING" placard
you will not become popular,
other members will consider
you to be an abuser of their
"club" . You will do much better
if you quietly introduce yourself
and keep the free Internet
advertising down to a whisper in
your signature file.
Remember Your Manners
How hard is it to say "thank
you"? If you visit a forum and
receive valuable advice which
helps you in some way, take a
moment to post a brief message
of thanks to your advisor . If
someone helped you out of a
spot in the bricks and mortar
world you would thank them .
Remember that people who
post on Internet forums are real
too and they are under no
obligation to help you. It is as
easy to make a friend with a
warm word as it is to create an
enemy with a harsh word and
you never know when you might
meet these people again .
Help Whenever You Can
Help other people whenever
you can . Even if you don 't have
any specialist knowledge , you
will find occasions when you can
pass on good advice. If you
received advice that took you to
a solution, post a message to
say how the advice helped and
what steps you followed to sort
things out , this will act as a
signpost for other people who
might find themselves in similar
difficulties. Even though you
joined the forum with the idea
of using it merely as a form of
free Internet advertising , make
time to give something back.
People will be more inclined to
take an interest in your
advertising if you become
known as a helpful type . What
goes around comes around
and, in any event , the reputation
of being a problem -solver is a
bit of free Internet advertising in
its own right.
Be Moderate
The majority of Internet forums
have moderators to ensure that
members stick to the rules . The
job of a forum moderator is to
keep the content of the forum
appropriate. Remember, it is not
just a place where you can
indulge in free Internet
advertising , so keep your
messages within the forum
rules. Any graffiti posted by
members will be cleaned up by
the moderators so that the
forum environment is preserved
for all members to enjoy . If you
wish to retain the respect of
your fellow forum members,
make sure your posts never
need to be cleaned up, be your
own moderator . As well as
sticking to the forum rules on
content, you should also keep
your messages moderate in
tone. The Chambers dictionary
includes the following
definitions of "moderate ": kept
within measure or bounds ; not
excessive or extreme;
temperate. If you avoid drama
and pathos in your forum
posting and keep your messages
moderate, you will not attract
"flamers" and you can quietly
enjoy your free Internet
advertising .
Ration Your Reading
Internet forums can be
addictive. There is a serious
danger that you might log in to a
forum with the idea of posting a
message or two in order to get
your daily ration of free Internet
advertising but , the next thing
you know is that half an hour
has passed by while you have
been engrossed in reading.
There is nothing inherently
wrong with spending time
reading posts made by other
forum members, it 's free
entertainment and that' s fine.
The problem is that, if you are
trying to run an Internet
marketing business and you lose
yourself on forums for half an
hour every day , you will be
wasting something like half a
day during the course of each
week for the sake of posting a
couple of links back to your
website. That is not an
economical use of your time. In
fact , if you account for the value
of your time , you will find you
are actually paying a high price
for your free Internet advertising
on forums .
Copyright 2005 Elaine Currie
Elaine Currie has a Work
From Home Directory at
her Plug In Profit Site for
everyone who wants their
own home based
business : http: //
www .Huntingvenus .com

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